Avalanches

News about Avalanches, including commentary and archival articles published in The New York Times.

Chronology of Coverage

Feb. 26, 2015

Avalanches caused by heavy snow kill at least 124 people and destroy or damage 100 homes in northeastern Afghanistan. MORE

Jan. 6, 2015

American skiers Ronnie Berlack and Bryce Astle, prospects for United States ski team, are killed in an avalanche near their European training base in the Austrian Alps. MORE

Oct. 21, 2014

Nepal's government says there are no more climbers to rescue six days after catastrophic storm bore down on several trekking routes in country's central Himalayan region, trapping scores of hikers; local officials raise death toll to 40 people, half of whom were Nepali. MORE

Oct. 18, 2014

Many involved in Nepal’s robust, expedition-centered tourism industry question why so many hikers were stranded on mountains in midst of weather event that appeared to have been predicted; with death toll at 31 following snowstorm and avalanche, some tour operators blame lack of government warning, but others suggest that trekkers and Himalayan tour companies were overly eager to complete trek. MORE

Oct. 17, 2014

Nepal's army and police rescue more than 70 hikers trapped by freakish, violent snowstorm while trekking across Thorong La pass in Himalayas; bodies of seven trekkers, six of them visitors from other countries and one Nepali, are retrieved and number is expected to rise, because many bodies are presumed to be buried under several feet of snow; dozens more hikers are safe but snowbound in remote lodges. MORE

Oct. 16, 2014

Blizzard and avalanche in Nepal’s Himalayas climbing region kill at least 20 people, including at least nine foreigners, with dozens more missing and feared buried; heavy snow forces suspension of rescue operations. MORE

Jun. 2, 2014

Six climbers are missing and presumed dead in avalanche or fall on Mount Rainier in Washington State, in what could be worst accident on mountain in decades; National Park Service says climbers were last heard from on third day of planned five-day expedition, and that there is 'no viable chance of survival.' MORE

May. 2, 2014

Small community of Nepalese Sherpas in Westchester and Putnam Counties is shaken by April 18 avalanche on Mount Everest that claimed lives of 16 Sherpas; many Sherpas in the New York area have worked as Everest guides and haulers and know the risks faced by those who died. MORE

Apr. 25, 2014

Climbers who had hoped to reach the summit of Mount Everest have instead begun the long journey home because of rising tensions between Sherpas and Nepalese government after deadly avalanche. MORE

Apr. 24, 2014

Tourism officials in Nepal will visit Mount Everest base camp in an attempt to salvage the expedition season even as Sherpa mountain guides, support staff and foreign tour operators, shaken by an avalanche that killed over a dozen Nepalese guides, begin to pack up their gear and head home. MORE

Apr. 23, 2014

Avalanche on Mount Everest that killed at least 13 Sherpas has prompted an extraordinary labor dispute, with Sherpas taking steps to shut the mountain down for the season, demanding Nepalese government share proceeds from what has become a multimillion-dollar business; Nepalese authorities infuriated many Sherpas by offering about $410 as compensation to families of the dead. MORE

Apr. 21, 2014

Sherpas, who put themselves at great risk to guide affluent clients up Mount Everest, mull an unprecedented strike, in wake of ice avalanche that killed at least 13, worst single-day death toll in mountain's history; some would-be climbers say their passion for the ascent is gone. MORE

Apr. 20, 2014

Op-Ed article by professional climber and guide Freddie Wilkinson notes that victims of avalanche on Mount Everest were all Nepalese, and that it is professional climbing Sherpas who bear disproportionate amount of the risk of Himalayan climbing; contends that Sherpas are paid far too little for dangers they face; offers hope that tragedy spurs change to labor politics on Everest. MORE

Dec. 4, 2013

Team of experts, using backhoes, explosive charges and network of dams and piping, is working to protect Rosa Khutor, Russian resort that will host Alpine skiing and snowboarding events at the 2014 Winter Olympics, from potentially catastrophic avalanches. MORE

Oct. 17, 2013

Australian man and three Tibetan porters are killed by avalanche in Mount Everest area of Tibet. MORE

Apr. 21, 2013

Five snowboarders are killed after apparently setting off an avalanche atop Colorado’s Loveland Pass, popular spot for backcountry enthusiasts. MORE

Mar. 6, 2013

Extreme skiing continues to gain popularity, despite high number of accidents and fatalities caused by avalanches; families of victims struggle to cope with deaths that could have been avoided. MORE

Dec. 26, 2012

Bill Foster and Mark Anderson are killed and two others are injured at ski resorts in California after being caught in avalanches. MORE

Dec. 21, 2012

Group of world-class skiers and snowboarders set out to ski Tunnel Creek in Washington's Cascades in February 2012, but were caught in an avalanche. MORE

Sep. 24, 2012

Avalanche on Mount Manaslu in northern Nepal kills at least nine climbers, many of them French or German; ten other climbers are rescued by helicopter and six are missing. MORE

Jul. 15, 2012

Climbing disaster in the French Alps that resulted in the deaths of nine climbers in an avalanche is the latest in a series of deadly climbing accidents in 2012; scientists, mountaineers and park managers say the increase in accidents is due to both more people seeking adventure and because of changing weather patterns, largely attributable to global warming. MORE

Jul. 14, 2012

Nine climbers are killed in the deadliest mountaineering accident in France in more than a decade; exactly what happened to cause the avalanche, including the direct trigger for the slide, is still being pieced together as the witnesses recover from injuries and shock; four mountaineers who had been declared missing turn up in Chamonix. MORE

Jul. 13, 2012

Avalanche in France's Mont Blanc mountain range sweeps at least nine European climbers to their death and at least 11 others are injured. MORE

Jun. 18, 2012

National Park Service permanently suspends its search for four Japanese climbers who were swept by an avalanche from Mount McKinley in Alaska after a mountaineering ranger discovers their climbing rope in debris at the bottom of a crevasse. MORE

Jun. 17, 2012

Four Japanese climbers are presumed dead days after an avalanche swept them away on Mount McKinley in Alaska, where they had begun their descent. MORE

Apr. 15, 2012

Avalanche that buried 124 Pakistani soldiers and 14 civilians draws an anguished reaction across the nation and puts a spotlight on a remote corner of the 65-year-old conflict of Kashmir, the disputed mountain territory that lies at the emotional heart of the conflict with India; incident focuses attention on whether the battle is worth the price. MORE

Apr. 8, 2012

Pakistani military faces a looming disaster after an avalanche crashes through a remote mountain base containing 135 people, setting off a high-altitude rescue scramble that has yielded no survivors. MORE

Mar. 13, 2012

Avalanche in eastern Afghanistan engulfs houses and cuts of roads, killing at least 45 people; heavy snow blocks roads leading to the area, preventing rescuers from reaching the victims. MORE

Mar. 8, 2012

Avalanche that crushed a village in the far reaches of northern Afghanistan, killing at least 50 people, is part of a pattern of extreme temperatures and heavier snowfall that has spread suffering and underscored the government’s continued failings despite a decade of outside assistance and billions of dollars in aid; relief groups and aid workers are bracing for flooding. MORE

Mar. 7, 2012

Spring thaw brings fresh troubles to Afghanistan, as an avalanche in Badakhshan Province kills at least 43 people and insurgent bomb attacks claim lives in Khost Province, Jalalabad and elsewhere; Taliban fighters also attack a jail in Kunar Province, leading to chase by NATO helicopters that kills four insurgents and a child who was gathering firewood near the scene. MORE

Feb. 21, 2012

Deaths of four people in two avalanches in the Cascade Mountains northeast of Seattle are latest in series of similar deaths in the roughly six-month skiing season, which has had conditions more conducive to avalanches than most in memory; although the number for this season project slightly higher than the national average of 28.8 deaths a year over the last decade, those who put themselves in harm's way seem to be experts pushing the limits of safety, not careless novices. MORE

Feb. 20, 2012

Four people skiing and snowboarding in out-of-bounds areas are killed in avalanches in two separate areas of Washington State. MORE

Avalanches caused by a heavy winter snow killed at least 124 people in northeastern Afghanistan, an emergency official said Wednesday, as rescuers clawed through debris with their hands to save those buried beneath.

As the death toll rose to 31 after a snowstorm and avalanche, some in Nepal’s tourism industry asked why so many trekkers were stranded in the midst of a weather event that appeared to have been predicted.